Stacy Keibler vs. Trish Stratus (WWE Judgment Day 2002) Match Review

This review was requested by The Late Night Grin’s own Tope Suicida, because of course.

It is May 19^th 2002 and WWE are in Nashville, Tennessee for their very first PPV under that new name. Indeed, they’d switched letters two weeks prior. I don’t know much about this situation but after watching a documentary or two, understand that Vince McMahon felt they needed to freshen things up. I’d imagine that’s true too, as I seem to recall it coming from Bruce Prichard, who is one of our sport’s most reliable historians.

Anyway, this is a famous show, maybe? I’m not sure to be honest, these years are a relative blind spot for me. If nothing else, it has a 7.18 on cagematch and a funny main event, which bodes well. That main event is of course Hulk Hogan vs. The Undertaker, as the latter becomes WWE Undisputed World Heavyweight Champion (lol) via THAT chokeslam. Glory days. Elsewhere, Chris Jericho and Triple H have a Hell in a Cell bout immediately after Edge and Kurt Angle’s Hair match.

That is not our focus however, as The Tope Suicida has instead directed our attention to the WWE World Women’s Title tilt. Trish Stratus is our champion, winning it six days prior with a mixed tag victory over Jazz and Steven Richards. Oh my god. Her partner was Bubba Ray Dudley, who remains in attendance for this title defence. Stratus’ first challenger is Stacy Keibler, who hadn’t wrestled in two months. This’d be just her fourth match of 2002.

Before we get down to brass tacks, you too can request a match review by sending me a buck (or more) at Ko-Fi.com/JoeHulbert. Thanks again to Tope Suicida, today’s tipper. Contrary to popular belief, he’s quite good.

Keibler and Stratus are on second here, following an Intercontinental Title opener between Eddie Guerrero and Rob Van Dam. This match was set up on the prior SmackDown, as Stacy got very upset at the results of a swimsuit competition. She had a fair argument too, with Stratus entering “in her underwear.” Jim Ross is excited about this ordeal, but seems bored when compared to Jerry Lawler, who is on the verge of exploding.

Before the bell can ring, Reverend D-Von is here, accompanied by Deacon Batista. These two fellas have been assigned by Mr. McMahon, standing in Keibler’s corner. She is his personal assistant, after all. That is the reason for Bubba’s presence, by the way, he is coming out now. Cagematch had spoiled these elements for me, which shows how the internet has ruined wrestling. Anyway, Stratus jumps Keibler with strikes, running into a spin kick for an early near fall.

Educated feet, and things of that nature. Back body drop follows, another near fall. My god. Stratus fires back via lariats, grabbing a Boston Crab to boot. Pinning combinations come next, with Stratus then landing a neckbreaker for 2. Graps. Forearms follow, as Stratus rocks Keibler before sending her to the floor with a headkick. Bubba laughs at Keibler and is rightly slapped for his troubles, getting very mad at these logical repercussions.

This upsets the Busted Open man, distracting our referee and allowing Batista to body slam Stratus. Oh my god. Stratus survives, firing back by kicking both Keibler and Batista, then landing a bulldog to remain champion. Folks, I’m quite sure that this ruled. They had exactly three minutes and absolutely jammed it with stuff, most of which went quite well. It’s very well agented and they brought some physicality, producing a snappy little match that exceeded expectations.

The surrounding presentation is gross, obviously, but they make the most of this, with Batista’s interference even allowing a nice false finish. Good sprint, a credit to the famed wrestling mind of Tope Suicida.